VanMac
Apr 26, 02:09 PM
Competition is good :) Keeps Apple on their toes
Don't need another MS Monopoly.......
Don't need another MS Monopoly.......
Don't panic
May 4, 05:12 PM
Rhon, Wilmer and Rosius are completely made up. I also didn't come up with 'villian'. ravenvii is the mastermind behind that one.
i had figured Rohn was from the Lair game (which I never played)
i had figured Rohn was from the Lair game (which I never played)
swarmster
Apr 25, 09:21 AM
Android has been shown (http://thenextweb.com/google/2011/04/21/its-not-just-the-iphone-android-stores-your-location-data-too/) to also gather location information, but the database is limited to a much smaller list of entries and is regularly wiped by the system. Jobs' email seems to explicitly claim, however, that Google's location information is used to track users while Apple's is not.
Umm, Android's on-phone database might be smaller, but the phone sends all your location data to Google several times an hour tied to a unique identifier, where I'm sure the database is unlimited. And even if you trust Google with that data, they've been hacked before.
The only way anyone gets your iPhone data is if they steal your phone and you don't do a remote wipe in time. Or if they steal your computer and you don't encrypt backups.
Umm, Android's on-phone database might be smaller, but the phone sends all your location data to Google several times an hour tied to a unique identifier, where I'm sure the database is unlimited. And even if you trust Google with that data, they've been hacked before.
The only way anyone gets your iPhone data is if they steal your phone and you don't do a remote wipe in time. Or if they steal your computer and you don't encrypt backups.
moobookpro
Sep 16, 04:04 PM
Aye, and I have noticed that Apple was very smart to market their line as notebooks rather than laptops. A notebook you put on a table and have less of a chance of getting another "McDonald's hot coffee burns lap" suit. :eek:
***Waiting for the "Caution: This notebook may burn you lap" warning sticker***
I would just like to note (yes, pun intended) that all computer manufacturers refer to their portable computers as notebooks. The only people that still call them laptops are consumers.
***Waiting for the "Caution: This notebook may burn you lap" warning sticker***
I would just like to note (yes, pun intended) that all computer manufacturers refer to their portable computers as notebooks. The only people that still call them laptops are consumers.
tlinford
May 8, 06:15 AM
Mobileme is certainly worth more than free. Apple doesn't scrape your emails and other data to target adds at you a la Google.
I could see Apple making some features of Mobileme free. I don't think they're just going kill a revenue stream but they could offer a basic free Mobileme account which gives you.
A me.com email address with 5 aliases.
Sync features
"Find my damn iDevice"
Calendar, Contacts, Bookmark sync
Web page
Gallery
iWork.com
Then roll out Mobileme Pro
Make iDisk more like Drop Box.
Enhance the sync
Online Backup
Cloud Music (Lala style)
iWork.com Pro (adds collaborative editing)
Whatever other cool stuff they can deliver
They don't ad but but they iAd-will! I wager ! (metaphorically speaking)
I could see Apple making some features of Mobileme free. I don't think they're just going kill a revenue stream but they could offer a basic free Mobileme account which gives you.
A me.com email address with 5 aliases.
Sync features
"Find my damn iDevice"
Calendar, Contacts, Bookmark sync
Web page
Gallery
iWork.com
Then roll out Mobileme Pro
Make iDisk more like Drop Box.
Enhance the sync
Online Backup
Cloud Music (Lala style)
iWork.com Pro (adds collaborative editing)
Whatever other cool stuff they can deliver
They don't ad but but they iAd-will! I wager ! (metaphorically speaking)
chaosbringer
Apr 29, 11:26 AM
They already provide fewer USB ports than the ICH10 actually provides (12 on the chip, but Apple only provides access to 5), so it's certainly possible this sort of thinking could be applied elsewhere.
I also wonder what else they would consider denying access to in the X79 (i.e. RAID functionality in particular).
Isn't Apple using usb connections for other hardware?
Bluetooth come to mind, the physical connection may not me nothing like a usb port or header but a usb connection may still provide the means to connect the Bluetooth mini board...
On the PSU subject, since Transporteur confirms that there are no vents from the HDDs going into the PSU Area, the only thing that could justify movin the PSU to the bottom area of the case would be.. having the power cable closer to the ground :D lol
On the top location, it does serve to balance the existence of the 2 ODD, allowing that separate airflow area.
I also wonder what else they would consider denying access to in the X79 (i.e. RAID functionality in particular).
Isn't Apple using usb connections for other hardware?
Bluetooth come to mind, the physical connection may not me nothing like a usb port or header but a usb connection may still provide the means to connect the Bluetooth mini board...
On the PSU subject, since Transporteur confirms that there are no vents from the HDDs going into the PSU Area, the only thing that could justify movin the PSU to the bottom area of the case would be.. having the power cable closer to the ground :D lol
On the top location, it does serve to balance the existence of the 2 ODD, allowing that separate airflow area.
BC2009
Mar 28, 11:13 AM
The iPhone 4 is already dated relative to other phones on the market. To have a phone on the market for 18 months without an update is insane.
You're missing something here.... The iPhone actually gets updates over its lifespan rather than promises of updates followed up by the requirement to buy a new phone in order to install the latest version of an open Android operating system on a closed manufacturer's phone. All-to-frequent updates make buyers feel like they have been tricked, especially when they cannot upgrade their phone to do the same things the new phones are doing because the manufacturer prevents it.
Not to mention that most folks have 2 year contracts and don't like to pay the penalty to upgrade early. The notion that 15 months between upgrades (not 18 months -- if you are counting June 2010 to September 2011) is not bad at all -- especially to the masses who are not early adopters. The iPhone 4 is still holding its own against the competition and its better than it was when it released because of software upgrades. It still does many things better than phones that have released since (like take better photos). Heck, I am still using my iPhone 3GS and I still love it because it gets new features every few months and has even improved on performance.
Do I think a dual-core 1Gz iPhone with 1GB of RAM would stack up better statistically against the competition? Yes. Do I think that phone will do more things and be faster? Yes. Do I think 3 months will matter all that much in the long run? No. If it means some vast improvements are coming (including LTE) -- then I am willing to wait 3 months.
You're missing something here.... The iPhone actually gets updates over its lifespan rather than promises of updates followed up by the requirement to buy a new phone in order to install the latest version of an open Android operating system on a closed manufacturer's phone. All-to-frequent updates make buyers feel like they have been tricked, especially when they cannot upgrade their phone to do the same things the new phones are doing because the manufacturer prevents it.
Not to mention that most folks have 2 year contracts and don't like to pay the penalty to upgrade early. The notion that 15 months between upgrades (not 18 months -- if you are counting June 2010 to September 2011) is not bad at all -- especially to the masses who are not early adopters. The iPhone 4 is still holding its own against the competition and its better than it was when it released because of software upgrades. It still does many things better than phones that have released since (like take better photos). Heck, I am still using my iPhone 3GS and I still love it because it gets new features every few months and has even improved on performance.
Do I think a dual-core 1Gz iPhone with 1GB of RAM would stack up better statistically against the competition? Yes. Do I think that phone will do more things and be faster? Yes. Do I think 3 months will matter all that much in the long run? No. If it means some vast improvements are coming (including LTE) -- then I am willing to wait 3 months.
ravenvii
May 4, 05:13 PM
OP updated with re-written rules by Don't panic (with minor modifications).
Hastings101
Apr 8, 02:36 AM
no, but I sometimes think that Andy Rubin believes he's the next Jobs ... at least he dresses similar to Jobs:
He kind of looks like him, lose a little more hair, the glasses, change his face a little...
He kind of looks like him, lose a little more hair, the glasses, change his face a little...
satkin2
Apr 20, 02:51 AM
What real difference would a larger screen make, it's half an inch at best, barely any difference.
I really can't see what could be gained from doing this, other than being in line with the competitions screen sizes. It would have an impact on the resolution and thus affect all apps.
Would increasing the screen size really enhance the product if it compromised the ecosystem upon which it is so tightly engrained in?
I really can't see what could be gained from doing this, other than being in line with the competitions screen sizes. It would have an impact on the resolution and thus affect all apps.
Would increasing the screen size really enhance the product if it compromised the ecosystem upon which it is so tightly engrained in?
balamw
Apr 9, 06:34 PM
Official Google answer.
280546
Wolfram Alpha concurs.
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=48%2F2%289%2B3%29
B
280546
Wolfram Alpha concurs.
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=48%2F2%289%2B3%29
B
McGiord
Apr 10, 06:38 PM
But the average American gets a refund soooooo 288 clearly wins lol
Less is more, and more is less when to taxes you refer...
If you have a big refund, it means that you pay too much, so you are not being very good at your day to day application of math.
Also when you say American do you refer to any citizen in the American continent or just the people that was born in the United States of America?
Either way an American receiving a big tax refund means that a lot of his (or her) money was better used by the government than what he (or she) could have done with it. Taking us back to the same subject: poor application of Math skills.:o
In the USA, you always have a second chance to file an amendment. So if you fail doing your math, you have a second chance..Something very well thought for those who follow the PEMDAS.
Less is more, and more is less when to taxes you refer...
If you have a big refund, it means that you pay too much, so you are not being very good at your day to day application of math.
Also when you say American do you refer to any citizen in the American continent or just the people that was born in the United States of America?
Either way an American receiving a big tax refund means that a lot of his (or her) money was better used by the government than what he (or she) could have done with it. Taking us back to the same subject: poor application of Math skills.:o
In the USA, you always have a second chance to file an amendment. So if you fail doing your math, you have a second chance..Something very well thought for those who follow the PEMDAS.
EDH667
Dec 13, 09:39 AM
That makes sense ... thanks for sharing!
If Magellan handles bluetooth a bit more logical, and Magellan supports all Apple devices (iPhone & iPod Touch) and Magellan can handle covers/skins ... it's worth the $10 more ... too bad they (or Apples approval process) missed the Xmas rush ... TomTom may see some exchanges in early Jan for Magellan.
I agree! I'm on my second TomTom car kit and continue to have problems with the Bluetooth speaker phone cutting in and out so you cannot hear the other person's conversation. I raised the issue with TomTom support and their reply was;
"I have forwarded the information that you provided to our product development team for review. We often use customer feedback as initiative to add or change the features of our products. Thank you for your feedback relating to this issue. We hope to have this issue resolved with a future update to the TomTom application."
I have a Magellan Premium car kit on order and will take my second TomTom car kit back to Apple for a refund!
If Magellan handles bluetooth a bit more logical, and Magellan supports all Apple devices (iPhone & iPod Touch) and Magellan can handle covers/skins ... it's worth the $10 more ... too bad they (or Apples approval process) missed the Xmas rush ... TomTom may see some exchanges in early Jan for Magellan.
I agree! I'm on my second TomTom car kit and continue to have problems with the Bluetooth speaker phone cutting in and out so you cannot hear the other person's conversation. I raised the issue with TomTom support and their reply was;
"I have forwarded the information that you provided to our product development team for review. We often use customer feedback as initiative to add or change the features of our products. Thank you for your feedback relating to this issue. We hope to have this issue resolved with a future update to the TomTom application."
I have a Magellan Premium car kit on order and will take my second TomTom car kit back to Apple for a refund!
infidel69
Apr 23, 02:29 PM
I need:
8 Internal Bays.
More PCIe Slots.
Thunderbolt.
Keep Dual Optical Bays.
More Ram Slots.
Built in Fibre Channel (This is a stretch)
That should be a MacPro. What you guys want is that magic headless iMac. I want more, not less.
Working in Video I need the most horsepower possible. 32 Cores would be nice.
At home I can live with my iMac, but editing on it is a pain. A MiniMacPro might work there, but it will still cost 2k and people will bitch.
For work I can justify spending $8,000 on a high powered PRO machine.
Exacly, these are workstations if you want something small with limited expandability buy an imac.
8 Internal Bays.
More PCIe Slots.
Thunderbolt.
Keep Dual Optical Bays.
More Ram Slots.
Built in Fibre Channel (This is a stretch)
That should be a MacPro. What you guys want is that magic headless iMac. I want more, not less.
Working in Video I need the most horsepower possible. 32 Cores would be nice.
At home I can live with my iMac, but editing on it is a pain. A MiniMacPro might work there, but it will still cost 2k and people will bitch.
For work I can justify spending $8,000 on a high powered PRO machine.
Exacly, these are workstations if you want something small with limited expandability buy an imac.
Popeye206
Apr 6, 06:20 PM
It seems to me that things have gone wildly off topic. The story was "Motorola Xoom Tablet Sales: Approximately 100,000 Units So Far?" not "Android vs. Apple: Which One Sucks More?"
We should be discussing the validity of the numbers and why this is the case, and not strictly "mine is longer than yours and here's why." Save those rants for a comparison of the devices story.
LOL! Unfortunately, this seems to go with the territory. Mention Android and it's bound to start a battle. Just like mention AT&T or Verizon and the flames start flying. It's silly, but fun to watch the banter.
100,000 or even 200,000 units is not good news for Moto. If sales don't increase quickly, retailers will loose interest and focus on what sells - the iPad.
We should be discussing the validity of the numbers and why this is the case, and not strictly "mine is longer than yours and here's why." Save those rants for a comparison of the devices story.
LOL! Unfortunately, this seems to go with the territory. Mention Android and it's bound to start a battle. Just like mention AT&T or Verizon and the flames start flying. It's silly, but fun to watch the banter.
100,000 or even 200,000 units is not good news for Moto. If sales don't increase quickly, retailers will loose interest and focus on what sells - the iPad.
bowlerman625
May 7, 09:08 AM
MacDailyNews.com is carrying a story saying there is a rumor out there that the MobileMe service will become free at some point.
Interesting concept if the rumor is true!
Interesting concept if the rumor is true!
Eddyisgreat
Mar 29, 08:30 PM
I guarantee America has all the technology required to make components for a phone battery.
Yeah. They can build planes in Nigeria too. :rolleyes:
Sheesh the amount of nationalism is ridiculous when it comes to these matters. It's a wide world out there. You're telling me some other outfit had either the knowledge and capability to bring the required components to fruition and scale to meet apple's demands? Why the heck did they get the Japanese got the contract then? Because they're not American?
Face it - America isn't the absolute best at absolutely everything.
Yeah. They can build planes in Nigeria too. :rolleyes:
Sheesh the amount of nationalism is ridiculous when it comes to these matters. It's a wide world out there. You're telling me some other outfit had either the knowledge and capability to bring the required components to fruition and scale to meet apple's demands? Why the heck did they get the Japanese got the contract then? Because they're not American?
Face it - America isn't the absolute best at absolutely everything.
LagunaSol
Apr 18, 04:11 PM
No, my point is they're not designed to be marketed and sold as cheap knock off that confuse customers.
Anyone can tell them apart, just from the bottom button alone if nothing else.
Irrelevant. Just because I stick a Ford logo on the hood doesn't mean I can make my new Mustang look like a Porsche Carrera clone.
Industrial design is legally protected work. And should be. It doesn't matter how you price your competing product.
Anyone can tell them apart, just from the bottom button alone if nothing else.
Irrelevant. Just because I stick a Ford logo on the hood doesn't mean I can make my new Mustang look like a Porsche Carrera clone.
Industrial design is legally protected work. And should be. It doesn't matter how you price your competing product.
NebulaClash
May 4, 02:43 PM
Distribution of Mac OS X Lion through the Mac App Store would of course not be a surprise
But will be greeted with outrage here anyway, just you watch.
But will be greeted with outrage here anyway, just you watch.
-aggie-
Apr 10, 06:05 PM
balamw & dukebound85:
You guys are making too many assumptions.
Following your thought process, the original post is not properly written then?
They’re not making any assumptions. You are.
The results of this poll are sad.
You guys are making too many assumptions.
Following your thought process, the original post is not properly written then?
They’re not making any assumptions. You are.
The results of this poll are sad.
wilhelmreems
Mar 29, 10:36 AM
I seem to remember the "backing up your library" to the "cloud" was tried by someone before. They had software that scanned the CD in your drive and then either ripped it to their servers, or just unlocked access to that album in your account. RIAA brought them down. This seems a little different, and highly wasteful of space. If 500 people upload a copy of "whatever," Amazon has to store 500x the space of "whatever," rather then just unlocking one copy for 500x people. Keep in mind 1 meg of cloud space is easily over 10 megs of physical storage. (RAID, redundancy, geographical peers, backups, etc...)
Amazon... not sure what to make them. They seem to be doing things which obviously will get them sued. I guess they figure if any ONE takes off they will make bank. Either way, I'm excited about this because Apple is great at being the best. The better the competition, the better the Apple product.
not really true. it depends on what kind of storage options they are currently running, there are many devices and programs out there that eliminate this kind of redundancy and odds are amazon is using them right now.
Amazon... not sure what to make them. They seem to be doing things which obviously will get them sued. I guess they figure if any ONE takes off they will make bank. Either way, I'm excited about this because Apple is great at being the best. The better the competition, the better the Apple product.
not really true. it depends on what kind of storage options they are currently running, there are many devices and programs out there that eliminate this kind of redundancy and odds are amazon is using them right now.
chrmjenkins
May 4, 04:45 PM
And goodness, Beatrice makes me feel like I'm 100 years old.
It's closer to 700.
It's closer to 700.
Erasmus
Aug 4, 10:05 PM
I agree but think likely by Thanksgiving. I think mini will get the 1.6 GHz Core 2 Duo Combo and 1.87 GHz Core 2 Duo Superdrive upgrades thus ending the last Mac to have only one core as well as the end of all 32-bit Macs. :)
OK, being an Australian, and blissfully ignorant to the ways of the American, when is Thanksgiving? Before or after Paris?
I say new iPods at Paris, and maybe some software. It would be great if all Macs were Core 2 Generation before the Paris Expo.
OK, being an Australian, and blissfully ignorant to the ways of the American, when is Thanksgiving? Before or after Paris?
I say new iPods at Paris, and maybe some software. It would be great if all Macs were Core 2 Generation before the Paris Expo.
CalBoy
May 3, 03:39 PM
I see no reason why 99, 99.5, and 100 are easier to track than 37.2, 37.5, and 37.7. As you said, we accept body temp to be 98.6 and 37.0 in Celsius. If decimals are difficult to remember, then clearly we should pick the scale that represents normal body temp as an integer, right? ;)
It doesn't matter what normal body temperature is because that's not what people are looking for when they take a temperature; they're looking for what's not normal. If it can be helped, the number one is seeking should be as flat as possible.
There is a distinctive quality about 100 that is special. It represents an additional place value and is a line of demarcation for most people. For a scientist or professional, the numbers seem the same (each with 3 digits ending in the tenths place), but to the lay user they are very different. The average person doesn't know what significant digits are or when rounding is appropriate. It's far more likely that someone will falsely remember "37.2" as "37" than they will "99" as "98.6." Even if they do make an error and think of 98.6 as 99, it is an error on the side of caution (because presumably they will take their child to the doctor or at least call in).
I realize this makes me seem like I put people in low regard, but the fact is that most things designed for common use are meant to be idiot-proof. Redundancies and warnings are hard to miss in such designs, and on a temperature scale, one that makes 100 "dangerous" is very practical and effective. You have to keep in mind that this scale is going to be used by the illiterate, functionally illiterate, the negligent, the careless, the sloppy, and the hurried.
The importance of additional digits finds its way into many facets of life, including advertising and pricing. It essentially the only reason why everything is sold at intervals of "xx.99" instead of a flat price point. Marketers have long determined that if they were to round up to the nearest whole number, it would make the price seem disproportionately larger. The same "trick" is being used by the Fahrenheit scale; the presence of the additional digit makes people more alarmed at the appropriate time.
Perhaps your set of measuring cups is the additional piece of equipment. Indeed you wouldn't need them. For a recipe in SI, the only items you would need are an electronic balance, graduating measuring "cup," and a graduated cylinder. No series of cups or spoons required (although, they do of course come in metric for those so inclined).
Of course any amateur baker has at least a few cups of both wet and dry so they can keep ingredients separated but measured when they need to be added in a precise order. It just isn't practical to bake with 3 measuring devices and a scale (which, let's be real here, would cost 5 times as much as a set of measuring cups).
This also relies on having recipes with written weights as opposed to volumes. It would also be problematic because you'd make people relearn common measurements for the metric beaker because they couldn't have their cups (ie I know 1 egg is half a cup, so it's easy to put half an egg in a recipe-I would have to do milimeter devision to figure this out for a metric recipe even though there's a perfectly good standard device for it).
It might seem that way to you, but the majority of the world uses weight to measure dry ingredients. For them it's just as easy.
Sure when you have a commercial quantity (which is also how companies bake in bulk-by weight), but not when you're making a dozen muffins or cupcakes. The smaller the quantity, the worse off you are with weighing each ingredient in terms of efficiency.
Why would you need alternative names? A recipe would call for "30ml" of any given liquid. There's no need to call it anything else.
So what would you call 500ml of beer at a bar? Would everyone refer to the spoon at the dinner table as "the 30?" The naming convention isn't going to disappear just because measurements are given in metric. Or are you saying that the naming convention should disappear and numbers used exclusively in their stead?
Well, no one would ask for a 237ml vessel because that's an arbitrary number based on a different system of units. But if you wanted, yes, you could measure that amount in a graduated measuring cup (or weigh it on your balance).
In that case, what would I call 1 cup of a drink? Even if it is made flat at 200, 250, or 300ml, what would be the name? I think by and large it would still be called a cup. In that case you aren't really accomplishing much because people are going to refer to it as they will and the metric quantity wouldn't really do anything because it's not something that people usually divide or multiply by 10 very often in daily life.
I suspect people would call it a "quarter liter," much like I would say "quarter gallon."
No, that would be 1/4 of a liter, not 4 liters. I'm assuming that without gallons, the most closely analogous metric quantity would be 4 liters. What would be the marketing term for this? The shorthand name that would allow people to express a quantity without referring to another number?
And no, you wouldn't call 500ml a "pint" because, well, why would you? :confused:
Well I'm assuming that beer would have to be served in metric quantities, and a pint is known the world over as a beer. You can't really expect the name to go out of use just because the quantity has changed by a factor of about 25ml.
...But countries using SI do call 500ml a demi-liter ("demi" meaning "half").
Somehow I don't see that becoming popular pub lingo...
This is the case with Si units as well. 500, 250, 125, 75, etc. Though SI units can also be divided by any number you wish. Want to make 1/5 of the recipe? ...Just divide all the numbers by five.
Except you can't divide the servings people usually take for themselves very easily by 2, 4, 8, or 16. An eighth of 300ml (a hypothetical metric cup), for example, is a decimal. It's not very probable that if someone was to describe how much cream they added to their coffee they'd describe it as "37.5ml." It's more likely that they'll say "1/4 of x" or "2 of y." This is how the standard system was born; people took everyday quantities (often times as random as fists, feet, and gulps) and over time standardized them.
Every standard unit conforms to a value we are likely to see to this day (a man's foot is still about 12 inches, a tablespoon is about one bite, etc). Granted it's not scientific, but it's not meant to be. It's meant to be practical to describe everyday units, much like "lion" is not the full scientific name for panthera leo. One naming scheme makes sense for one application and another makes sense for a very different application. I whole heartedly agree that for scientific, industrial, and official uses metric is the way to go, but it is not the way to go for lay people. People are not scientists. They should use the measuring schemes that are practical for the things in their lives.
Not that OS X Panthera Leo doesn't have a nice ring to it, of course. ;)
No, but it is onerous for kids to learn SI units, which is a mandatory skill in this global world. Like I said, why teach kids two units of measure if one will suffice?
It's onerous to learn how to multiply and divide by 10 + 3 root words? :confused: Besides, so many things in our daily lives have both unit scales. My ruler has inches and cm and mm. Bathroom scales have pounds and kg. Even measuring cups have ml written on them.
You could be right for international commerce where values have to be recalculated just for the US, but like I said, I think those things should be converted. I don't really care if I buy a 25 gram candy bar as opposed to a 1 ounce candy bar or a 350ml can of soda.
Perhaps true, but just because you switch to metric, doesn't mean you need to stop using tablespoons and teaspoons for measurements. It's all an approximation anyway, since there are far more than 2 different spoon sizes, and many of them look like they're pretty much equal in size to a tablespoon.
I'm sorry, but which tablespoons do you use that aren't tablespoons? The measuring spoons most people have at home for baking are very precise and have the fractions clearly marked on them.
Other than that, there's a teaspoon, tablespoon, and serving spoon (which you wouldn't use as a measurement). The sizes are very different for each of those and I don't think anyone who saw them side by side could confuse them.
So if you're cooking, do what everyone else does with their spoons; if you need a tablespoon, grab the big-ish one and estimate. If you needed more precision than that, why wouldn't you use ml? :confused:
Because it's a heck of a lot easier to think, "I need one xspoon of secret ingredient" than it is to think, "I need xml of secret ingredient." You think like a scientist (because you are one). Most people aren't. That's who the teaspoons and tablespoons are for.
It doesn't matter what normal body temperature is because that's not what people are looking for when they take a temperature; they're looking for what's not normal. If it can be helped, the number one is seeking should be as flat as possible.
There is a distinctive quality about 100 that is special. It represents an additional place value and is a line of demarcation for most people. For a scientist or professional, the numbers seem the same (each with 3 digits ending in the tenths place), but to the lay user they are very different. The average person doesn't know what significant digits are or when rounding is appropriate. It's far more likely that someone will falsely remember "37.2" as "37" than they will "99" as "98.6." Even if they do make an error and think of 98.6 as 99, it is an error on the side of caution (because presumably they will take their child to the doctor or at least call in).
I realize this makes me seem like I put people in low regard, but the fact is that most things designed for common use are meant to be idiot-proof. Redundancies and warnings are hard to miss in such designs, and on a temperature scale, one that makes 100 "dangerous" is very practical and effective. You have to keep in mind that this scale is going to be used by the illiterate, functionally illiterate, the negligent, the careless, the sloppy, and the hurried.
The importance of additional digits finds its way into many facets of life, including advertising and pricing. It essentially the only reason why everything is sold at intervals of "xx.99" instead of a flat price point. Marketers have long determined that if they were to round up to the nearest whole number, it would make the price seem disproportionately larger. The same "trick" is being used by the Fahrenheit scale; the presence of the additional digit makes people more alarmed at the appropriate time.
Perhaps your set of measuring cups is the additional piece of equipment. Indeed you wouldn't need them. For a recipe in SI, the only items you would need are an electronic balance, graduating measuring "cup," and a graduated cylinder. No series of cups or spoons required (although, they do of course come in metric for those so inclined).
Of course any amateur baker has at least a few cups of both wet and dry so they can keep ingredients separated but measured when they need to be added in a precise order. It just isn't practical to bake with 3 measuring devices and a scale (which, let's be real here, would cost 5 times as much as a set of measuring cups).
This also relies on having recipes with written weights as opposed to volumes. It would also be problematic because you'd make people relearn common measurements for the metric beaker because they couldn't have their cups (ie I know 1 egg is half a cup, so it's easy to put half an egg in a recipe-I would have to do milimeter devision to figure this out for a metric recipe even though there's a perfectly good standard device for it).
It might seem that way to you, but the majority of the world uses weight to measure dry ingredients. For them it's just as easy.
Sure when you have a commercial quantity (which is also how companies bake in bulk-by weight), but not when you're making a dozen muffins or cupcakes. The smaller the quantity, the worse off you are with weighing each ingredient in terms of efficiency.
Why would you need alternative names? A recipe would call for "30ml" of any given liquid. There's no need to call it anything else.
So what would you call 500ml of beer at a bar? Would everyone refer to the spoon at the dinner table as "the 30?" The naming convention isn't going to disappear just because measurements are given in metric. Or are you saying that the naming convention should disappear and numbers used exclusively in their stead?
Well, no one would ask for a 237ml vessel because that's an arbitrary number based on a different system of units. But if you wanted, yes, you could measure that amount in a graduated measuring cup (or weigh it on your balance).
In that case, what would I call 1 cup of a drink? Even if it is made flat at 200, 250, or 300ml, what would be the name? I think by and large it would still be called a cup. In that case you aren't really accomplishing much because people are going to refer to it as they will and the metric quantity wouldn't really do anything because it's not something that people usually divide or multiply by 10 very often in daily life.
I suspect people would call it a "quarter liter," much like I would say "quarter gallon."
No, that would be 1/4 of a liter, not 4 liters. I'm assuming that without gallons, the most closely analogous metric quantity would be 4 liters. What would be the marketing term for this? The shorthand name that would allow people to express a quantity without referring to another number?
And no, you wouldn't call 500ml a "pint" because, well, why would you? :confused:
Well I'm assuming that beer would have to be served in metric quantities, and a pint is known the world over as a beer. You can't really expect the name to go out of use just because the quantity has changed by a factor of about 25ml.
...But countries using SI do call 500ml a demi-liter ("demi" meaning "half").
Somehow I don't see that becoming popular pub lingo...
This is the case with Si units as well. 500, 250, 125, 75, etc. Though SI units can also be divided by any number you wish. Want to make 1/5 of the recipe? ...Just divide all the numbers by five.
Except you can't divide the servings people usually take for themselves very easily by 2, 4, 8, or 16. An eighth of 300ml (a hypothetical metric cup), for example, is a decimal. It's not very probable that if someone was to describe how much cream they added to their coffee they'd describe it as "37.5ml." It's more likely that they'll say "1/4 of x" or "2 of y." This is how the standard system was born; people took everyday quantities (often times as random as fists, feet, and gulps) and over time standardized them.
Every standard unit conforms to a value we are likely to see to this day (a man's foot is still about 12 inches, a tablespoon is about one bite, etc). Granted it's not scientific, but it's not meant to be. It's meant to be practical to describe everyday units, much like "lion" is not the full scientific name for panthera leo. One naming scheme makes sense for one application and another makes sense for a very different application. I whole heartedly agree that for scientific, industrial, and official uses metric is the way to go, but it is not the way to go for lay people. People are not scientists. They should use the measuring schemes that are practical for the things in their lives.
Not that OS X Panthera Leo doesn't have a nice ring to it, of course. ;)
No, but it is onerous for kids to learn SI units, which is a mandatory skill in this global world. Like I said, why teach kids two units of measure if one will suffice?
It's onerous to learn how to multiply and divide by 10 + 3 root words? :confused: Besides, so many things in our daily lives have both unit scales. My ruler has inches and cm and mm. Bathroom scales have pounds and kg. Even measuring cups have ml written on them.
You could be right for international commerce where values have to be recalculated just for the US, but like I said, I think those things should be converted. I don't really care if I buy a 25 gram candy bar as opposed to a 1 ounce candy bar or a 350ml can of soda.
Perhaps true, but just because you switch to metric, doesn't mean you need to stop using tablespoons and teaspoons for measurements. It's all an approximation anyway, since there are far more than 2 different spoon sizes, and many of them look like they're pretty much equal in size to a tablespoon.
I'm sorry, but which tablespoons do you use that aren't tablespoons? The measuring spoons most people have at home for baking are very precise and have the fractions clearly marked on them.
Other than that, there's a teaspoon, tablespoon, and serving spoon (which you wouldn't use as a measurement). The sizes are very different for each of those and I don't think anyone who saw them side by side could confuse them.
So if you're cooking, do what everyone else does with their spoons; if you need a tablespoon, grab the big-ish one and estimate. If you needed more precision than that, why wouldn't you use ml? :confused:
Because it's a heck of a lot easier to think, "I need one xspoon of secret ingredient" than it is to think, "I need xml of secret ingredient." You think like a scientist (because you are one). Most people aren't. That's who the teaspoons and tablespoons are for.
